The present invention relates to a sock having means for the detection of pressure points on a foot of a patient having diminished sensation in the foot and to a method for sensing diabetic neuropathic foot disease. More specifically, the present invention relates to a sock containing a coloring agent or dye that is removed from the sock onto a wearer""s foot by the pressure points.
Diabetic neuropathic foot disease is the most common cause of amputation in the United States. The problem is that a diabetes patient can suffer a partial or complete loss of feeling in the lower extremities and especially in the foot. A healthy person starts to feel pain when subjected to continuous local pressure and therefore shifts their body automatically to lessen the discomfort, but patients having a sensatory loss are deprived of this protection and are therefore common victims of pressure sores and open wounds which can become ulcerated.
It is therefore desirable to detect the pressure points in the foot to prevent pressure sores and wounds so that a patient who might not be able to recognize existence of a pressure point inducing condition can get off of his or her feet to eliminate the condition or to take such other preventative measures as may eliminate or reduce the condition.
Devices are known in the prior art for indicating to persons having diminished sensation in the foot that their feet are being exposed to excessive stress conditions. Many of these devices include shoes which detect excess pressure through a force sensor and signals the wearer of the existence that a threshold pressure has been reached. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,479, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,253, U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,918 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,096. The difficulty with such devices is that they are expensive and cumbersome to wear. Accordingly, it is desirable that there be provided a method for conveniently detecting the pressure points in the foot of a patient with diminished sensation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a sock having means for the detection of pressure points on a foot of a patient having diminished sensation in the foot.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sock containing a dye which, when the sock is worn, at least a portion of the dye is transferred from the sock and adheres to pressure points of a patient""s foot.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for sensing diabetic neuropathic foot disease.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sock for detecting pressure points on a foot of a patient being diagnosed for diminished sensation in the foot. The sock has a coating material applied to at least a portion of the interior surface of the sock so that when the patient wears the sock, the coating material transfers from the interior surface of the sock to the foot at the pressure points.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for detecting pressure points on a foot of a patient being diagnosed for diminished sensation in the foot. The method includes fitting a sock of this invention to the foot to be examined, having the patient wear the sock for a period of time, and removing the sock to determine the points of the foot where the removable coating material has been transferred to the foot. Generally speaking, the sock will need to be only worn a short period of time preferably from 10 minutes to 30 minutes in order for the dye to be transferred from the sock to the pressure points on the patient""s foot.
The present invention is particularly useful in diabetes patients. The socks of this invention can be worn with shoes on. Thus the patient can perform normal activities while pressure points can be detected in real time. Once the pressure points in the patient""s feet are detected, the patient may then be treated to prevent the development of sores or ulcers. Conventionally, the patient""s shoes can be altered to ease the pressure in the affected portion of the foot.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.